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This simple Sheet Pan Sticky Ginger Sesame Chicken and Crispy Brussels Sprouts dinner is about to become your new go-to meal. Easy homemade Asian inspired chicken, tossed in a gingery, sweet, spicy, and extra sticky soy pomegranate sauce. Serve this meal with roasted brussels sprouts, cooked right alongside the chicken, for the easiest sheet pan dinner. Then add a side of steamed rice topped with plenty of sesame seeds. And the best part…this sticky chicken is made quicker than any take-out meal and much healthier too. A delicious, fun, and healthy dinner any night of the week!
I love a good Asian inspired recipe more than you know. Anything that semi resembles take-out style meals seem to end up as a family favorite. Well, we love pizza and pasta too. That’s why I try to provide a variety of recipes here on HBH for whatever food mood you’re in.
Anyway, tonight we’re going the take-out at home route and I’m excited. It’s been a while since I’ve shared a “take-out” style recipe.
I originally had the idea to make this chicken last week, but then we had snow. The cold swayed me towards creating a cozier rosemary chicken and rice pilaf. But this week, the sun is shining and we’re back to normal fall weather around here. Enter this chicken, it’s the perfect fall dinner that highlights in-season brussels sprouts and sweet pomegranates.
Making this sheet pan sticky ginger chicken is easy…
Here are all the details. I wasn’t planning on breading the chicken, but as I was testing, a light went off in my head. Sure, I wanted a sticky sauce, but how would the sauce really stick to the chicken without any coating?
So I quickly decided to toss the chicken with a beaten egg and dredge it through some flour. This is a very, very light coating, but it’s just enough to help all that sticky sauce actually stick to the chicken. Once you’ve coated the chicken in flour, arrange it to one side of a large greased baking sheet. Then drizzle generously with sesame oil (or olive oil) to help the chicken crisp up a bit.
Now that you’ve got the chicken ready, let’s talk about those sprouts.
First off, sure you can use broccoli if you hate brussels sprouts. But I LOVE a well-roasted sprout and also find them delicious when paired with a salty Asian recipe.
I kept the sprouts basic, just sesame oil, salt, and pepper. But the real secret? Getting them extra crispy in the oven. Since the chicken cooks at such a high temperature, the sprouts have time to roast, soften, turn crisp, and lightly char on the outside. Delicious.
While everything is roasting, make the sticky sauce.
The truth? The sauce is truly why you should make this recipe. The sauce + the sprouts, because I really do love brussels sprouts the most.
Oh, and the sauce? It’s honestly so addicting. Sweet, tangy, a touch spicy and once boiled down, super sticky. The secret ingredient is one of my autumn favorites, pomegranate juice. I know it might sound odd, but please, don’t doubt me here. The pomegranate juice adds sweetness, tanginess, and deep dark color too. It’s one of my favorite ingredients to use in Asian inspired recipes. Plus, I always love the added pop of color, especially this time of year when the pomegranates are coming into season.
The sauce takes only a few minutes to thicken up on the stove. It’s usually ready by the time the chicken has finished cooking.
Then just toss the sauce with the chicken, return to the oven for a few more minutes, and you’re done. I was shocked at how well the timing of everything ended up working out.
Nothing fancy here, just simple cooking, but very delicious.
Serving suggestions?
Steamed rice, plenty of green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and pomegranate arils – if you can find them. Sadly ours have yet to show up for the season, but they’ll be here soon! Then drizzle with a generous amount of the leftover sauce…because saucy sticky chicken is the only way to go.
Tip…double the recipe and save the leftovers for quick and easy lunches. The chicken would also be great atop a chopped salad or served with rice noodles.
If you’re looking for something fresh and healthy…ish for dinner this week, make this sticky chicken!
Looking for other Asian style recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Thai Basil Sesame Cashew Chicken with Coconut Rice
Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice
Ginger Sesame Chicken Potstickers with Sweet Chili Pomegranate Sauce
Lastly, if you make this sheet pan sticky ginger sesame chicken and crispy brussels sprouts, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sheet Pan Sticky Ginger Sesame Chicken and Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 454 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup all-purpose or gluten free all-purpose flour
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3/4 pound brussels sprouts, halved
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil
- 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup pomegranate juice (equal amounts of apple cider or orange juice are great substitutes)
- 1/4 cups honey
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon molasses or pomegranate molasses
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, use more or less to taste
- rice, sesame seeds, and green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with oil.2. Add the chicken, egg, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl. Toss to combine. Add the flour to another bowl. Dredge the chicken in batches through the flour, tossing to coat. Place the chicken on one side of the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Add the brussels sprouts to the other side of the pan and toss with 2 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange cut side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Toss the sprouts, flip the chicken and return to the oven another 3-5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Reduce the oven temp to 400 degrees F.3. Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, pomegranate juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, molasses, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil 5-8 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces by about 1/3. Remove from the heat.4. Pour half the sauce over the chicken, tossing to combine. Toss the sprouts with 1 tablespoon oil. Return everything to the oven for 3 minutes, until the sauce coats the chicken, watch close the sauce can burn. 5. Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of rice topped with additional green onions, pomegranate arils, and sesame seeds. Serve the brussels sprouts on the side.
This post was originally published on September 16, 2020
Used to make this often then realized how overly complicated the marinade is to the point I would groan when my husband requested this dish. I bought a marinade similar (just look for sesame ginger marinade in grocery store) to what’s in this recipe and never looked back. Concept is there, but yeah this is so unnecessarily complicated. Also, ditched breading the chicken for less calories (it wasn’t adding much to the recipe anyway).
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Maddy!
The sauce had the strangest combo of flavors. My husband said it reminded him of the aftertaste of vomit
Sorry to hear this, Laura. Have a great Sunday!
Do you have any recipes similar to this that aren’t sweet? This sounds so good, but we don’t like sweet dinners. Love your recipes.
Hi Debbie,
To make this less sweet, I would just skip the molasses and then reduce the honey. I hope this helps!
Soooooo good!!
Love to hear this, Merritt! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your feedback! Have a wonderful week! xxT
I have made this recipe a couple times now. I had some of the same issues that others mentioned, but the sauce was so good that I felt like it was worth trying again. And the second time was the charm. So for anyone interested, here’s what I did that may help you out.
For those that said it was really salty, I doubled the amount of almond butter and used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. I found that the sauce was delicious and the real winner in this recipe!
I also had the “gummy texture” effect as others in the comments. So the second time I did a classic fried chicken. I put the chicken pieces in an egg/buttermilk mixture, then coated with flour and then cooked on the stove top in oil. I poured the reduced sauce on top once everything was cooked.
I will definitely be cooking this again!
Hey Amanda,
Happy Monday! So glad to hear this recipe was a hit, I appreciate you making it and your comment! Thanks for sharing your notes, they are very helpful! xx
Flavors were good, however we found the sauce to be very salty. Also, sauce did not thicken up as expected.
Hi Beth,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear the sauce was salty, you could use a low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos next time. For a thicker sauce, a cornstarch slurry would definitely help. xx
Delicious, seasonal, nutritious, hits in every way. Anyone who isn’t getting their chicken to turn out or Brussel sprouts I don’t think is using the proper temperature. The crisping up and caramelization of the sauce doesn’t happen until it has lingered a bit in the higher heat, getting gently turned over to have all sides affected. Insane just like all HBH recipes. Please keep these healthy, incredible recipes coming where I can load up on the protein😘😘
Hey Evie,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Friday! xxT
as others have said – the flour with the chicken just turned out gummy. the pic looks so good and ours looked nothing like it. brussels sprouts i cut in half and they still weren’t done. ended up with a ton of sauce left over. all that being said – the overall taste was really good. served over ramen noodles.
Hi Tara,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you had issues with the flour and chicken. Glad you were able to enjoy over ramen:) xT
Any suggestions on what to substitute the peanut butter with? Looking for a nut free meal due to allergies.
Hey Emily,
Sun butter would also be a great option for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
I have made this recipe for the past few years and it is such a hit ! It gives me all the Fall feels, but can also be cooked all year!5 stars ! I love Half Baked Harvest ! Thanks Tiegan! 💜
Hey Christina,
Happy Fall Thursday!
Thanks a lot for making this recipe so often and your comment, so glad it always turns out nicely for you! XxT
The flavor of this recipe was tasty and the sauce turned out well. However, the chicken seemed a bit dry and not the best texture, while the Brussels sprouts didn’t get crispy even with extra time.
Hi Robin,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the chicken. Any chance the Brussels sprouts were on the larger side? Let me know if I can help at all! xT
The sauce was delicious, unfortunately, although I didn’t leave excess flour, the texture of the chicken was quite gummy on the outside. The brussels sprouts also were not remotely cooked through in the time dictated by the recipe. I consider myself fairly skilled in the kitchen and followed the recipe to a T. We ended up ordering out.
Hi Hayley,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! x
Would not recommend this recipe. I love half baked harvest recipes, however, this is the worst one I’ve tried in 3 years. I consider myself a pretty good cook. I spent an hour on this recipe & then it flopped. There were too many ingredients, I could not get the sauce to thicken. I would not recommend.
Hi Morgan,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and so many others, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! If there is anything specific that I can help with, please let me know! xT
Loved the flavor! But mine didn’t turn out sticky and I am not sure why… still so good !
Hi Jessica,
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Did the sauce just need to thicken a bit? Thanks for trying this recipe! xT